Our Mentality Stays The Same, Says Whelan
- An Adobe Women’s FA Cup Semi-Final awaits LCFC Women
- City travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon (12pm BST kick-off)
- We’re going out to win it, says captain Aileen Whelan
- Tickets for this weekend’s clash can be found HERE
Leicester have made it into the final four of this year’s FA Cup following wins against Derby County, Birmingham City and Liverpool and now only Tottenham stand between them and Wembley.
Keen to keep the train rolling, the captain, who has played in these high-pressured games before, gave an update on how the squad is feeling in the days leading up to the match.
“The overriding emotion right now is pure excitement,” Whelan confirmed. “Everyone is excited to head into a semi-final knowing that a win would put us at Wembley fighting for the FA Cup.
“I’ve been in this position before in terms of going to a semi-final, so I know what it takes as a player, and also as a captain it’s not too different because I have a great group of girls who are committed and passionate to do the job properly.
“I think every game we go into, whether it’s the cup competition or league, we go in to win it so our mentality is always the same.
“We need to make sure we’re motivated and ready to go as soon as that first whistle goes. Whether that’s winning the first challenge or scoring the first goal, we need to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
This weekend’s semi-final will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and although excited to play in the impressive stadia, the former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder doesn’t think it will affect the mentality of the team all that much.
Having the backing of the Foxes’ faithful who are travelling in the numbers will come as a big boost for Leicester, who the captain hopes will embrace the challenge in London.
“For the women’s game, it’s good that we get to play in all of these big stadiums,” Whelan continued. “I think it’s a little bit in our favour because Spurs don’t get to play there all the time. It’s not necessarily a home game for them so we need to use that to our advantage.
“We’re used to playing on nice pitches when we train or play home games so for us, it’s just about embracing the atmosphere and the occasion and going out to win the game, no matter what field we’re on.”